September 20, 2024

Are Zack & Irina Still Together From ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 4? She Claims Their Awkward 1st Meeting Wasn’t ‘About His Looks’

Irina #Irina

Warning: Love Is Blind season 4 spoilers ahead. From the moment they met in person outside of The Pods, it was clear that Zack and Irina had a rocky road ahead. So are Zack and Irina still together from Love Is Blind season 4 and where are they now? Read on for what happened to their relationship.

Zack Goytowski and Irina Solomonova were two of 30 contestants from Love Is Blind season 4, which premiered on Netflix on March 24, 2023 and followed 15 men and 15 women from the Seattle, Washington, as they speed-dated  in “Pods” where they can talk but not see each other. During their 10 days in “The Pods”, the couples decide if they wanted to get engaged—still sight unseen—or end their relationships for a better connection with someone else. After the proposal, the couples meet face-to-face for the first time and go on a honeymoon, where they learn more about each other and meet the other couples. After the trip, the couples, who all live in the same city, return to the real world and move into an apartment together as they meet each other’s families and friends and prepare for their weddings. At the altar on their wedding days, the couples must decide whether to marry or breakup as they answer the age-old question of if love can be truly blind.

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Since Love Is Blind premiered on Netlix in 2020, the show has become one of service’s highest-rated series, with more than 30 million views in its first two months. “Across the world, everybody feels the same way: Everyone wants to be loved for who they are on the inside. It doesn’t matter where you live, what you look like, how old you are, what your background is, which class you know, or social structure you feel like you’re a part of, everyone wants to be loved for who they are,” creator Chris Coelen told Variety in 2020. “In today’s society we’ve got all these ways to find love through dating apps and technology. Those things sort of counterintuitively have made people feel disposable. They’ve made people feel like it’s all surface level. It does the opposite thing it was supposed to do. So we thought, what if we took everybody’s devices away, how could we get them to focus on connecting with other people?”

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Coelen also told Variety about how the connections on Love Is Blind were based on choice, which is why the relationships were that much stronger. “It was incredibly scary because nobody had to do anything, versus a show like we do Married at First Sight, you sign up and you know, you’re getting married to a stranger. Here, nobody had to do anything. It was if you find someone, if you choose. Which is so scary. They don’t have to go through with the wedding ceremony,” he said. “But assuming they found someone, could that love overcome any judgment in the real world? That’s an incredibly fascinating question. And that’s what we set out to try to examine.”

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But back to Zack and Irina. So…are Zack and Irina still together from Love Is Blind season 4? Read on for what we know about if Zack and Irina are still together from Love Is Blind season 4 and where they are now.

Zack, Irina, “Love Is Blind,” Season 4

Are Zack and Irina still together from Love Is Blind season 4? The answer is no. Zack Goytowski and Irina Solomonova met and got engaged in The Pods on Love Is Blind season 4, but broke up at the end of their vacation in Mexico at the end of in episode 5 after they both realized their relationship wasn’t working.

In an interview with Today in March 2023, Irina explained why she and Zack broke up. “I feel like me and Zack weren’t meant to be,” Irina said. “It wasn’t anything about his looks, or anything like that, it was more of the sense of feeling this gut feeling that he wasn’t the person for me.” Zack also confirmed to Today that he and Irina haven’t spoken since their breakup. “I have not talked to Irina since Mexico. She sent me text messages, but I honestly never responded any of them,” he said.

Irina also responded to criticism over how she treated Zack during their relationship on Love Is Blind season 4 in an interview with People in March 2023. “From a communication [standpoint], I do feel like I was myself during the whole show. But I think there was moments where I wasn’t my best self, and I am excited to watch it and see all the new perspectives and learn from whatever is not my character,” Irina said. “Obviously, we’re being recorded all day, and there’s going to be moments where I’m not my best self. But I’m excited to see how everything came out and just to grow from everything and put my best foot forward.” She continued, “I have truly no bad intentions for anybody at all. So I’m excited to clean things up if there is anything.”

Irina also told People that she didn’t “regret choosing” Zack on Love Is Blind season 4. “I think that Zack was one of the best people I had a connection with in the pods,” she said. “We connected a lot about our families and trauma and life in general.” Irina also explained that there wasn’t one “specific” reason she and Zack broke up. “I don’t think there was a specific moment. I would just think it was a lot of things,” she said. “It was like maybe little mannerisms he did or maybe singing, but there was just something inside of me that I was like, ‘This isn’t the person for me.’”

In an interview with Today in March 2023, Irina also responded to her feud with Bliss, another Love Is Blind season 4 contestant, who Zack rejected before he got engaged to Irina. “Me and Bliss didn’t have the best moments in the lounge, but I have absolutely no harsh feelings towards her,” Irina said. Irina also revealed that she encouraged Zack to pursue Bliss after their breakup. “I think what’s meant to be, will be,” she said.

Irina also confirmed to People that she and Bliss have no animosity. “Before me and Zack broke up, I told him, if he wanted to go to pursue something with Bliss that he should,” she said. “I have no bad blood with her at all, but I could see how she could have some bad blood with me,” She continued, “Obviously, that’s going to be uncomfortable or hard maybe to watch. But me and Zack weren’t supposed to be together, and we are not together for a reason.”

Who is Zack from Love Is Blind season 4?

Image: Netflix.

Who is Zack from Love Is Blind season 4? Zack Goytowski is a 31-year-old Criminal Defense Attorney from the Seattle, Washington, area. His Instagram handle is @zackgoytowski. “Lawyer- Exploring the PNW Movement Culture – Jiu Jitsu – Calisthenics,” his Instagram bio read at the time Love Is Blind season 4 premiered.

“I photoshopped myself into one of those Love Is Blind announcement cards. Think they’d ever let me on?,” Zack captioned an Instagram post announcing he was on the Love Is Blind season 4 in March 2023. In a video announcing the full Love Is Blind season 4 cast in March 2023, Zach described his moment of truth as when he learned he was “recreational” arguer.

According to his Linkedin, Zack graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology in 2012, and also attended the University of Idaho’s College of Law.

Who is Irina from Love Is Blind season 4?

Image: Netflix.

Who is Irina from Love Is Blind season 4? Irina Solomonova is a 26-year-old Business Owner from the Seattle, Washington, area. her Instagram handle is @irina_solo.

“Yoooohoooo buckle up March 24th👀 @loveisblindnetflix,” she captioned an Instagram post announcing she was on Love Is Blind season 4 in March 2023.  In a video announcing the full Love Is Blind season 4 cast in March 2023, Irina explainedche her advice for her partner is to buckle up.

According to her Linkedin, Irina is the founder of her own event planning company, Solo Co. “Ever since I can remember I’ve been passionate about people, design, and food. In 2020 I was inspired to start a business that helps create a space for people to sit around a table and enjoy life together,” Irina’s about page on Solo Co.’s website reads. “Whatever that moment was, I wanted to help create it for people. I believe there is something so beautiful about gathering around a table, making space for people, and enjoying life together.” She continued, “Solo.co is a way to help create these experiences for people that they’ll never forget. It wasn’t just about a picture perfect moment or the event, its about the messy table at the end of a night, and the laughter shared in a safe space that helps you connect back to the people you love. That’s the heart of life at the table, being together, celebrating and connect back to who we are as being human.

Before Solo Co., Irina worked as a Shift Lead at JOEY Restaurant Group, a Patient Service Representative at First Hill Surgery Center, and a Sales Representative at Verizon, according to her Linkedin.

“Love Is Blind,” Season 4

Love Is Blind season 4 was filmed in Seattle, Washington. Love Is Blind season 1 was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia; season 2 was filmed in Chicago, Illinois; and season 3 was filmed in Dallas, Texas. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2020, Love Is Blind creator Chris Coelen explained that each season casts contestants from the same city so long distance isn’t a factor in their relationships. “It was a really interesting and diverse cast in terms of the fact that they were all from many different places originally,” he said. “But they were all living around the Atlanta area [at the time of casting]. The reason that we did that was because we wanted to give these people a real shot at making their relationships work for the long term.”

He continued, “Whether you think [love] is going to happen or not, we wanted people that would be ready to be married. If you’re really in it—genuinely in it, which was the No. 1 casting criteria—it felt to us that it was too much of a bridge for someone living in Miami and someone living in Seattle to build. We thought let’s at least start with them in the same geographical area.”

Coelen also explained to Variety in 2020 about why he wanted each Love Is Blind season to cast contestants from the same city. “We wanted people to all be living, currently in the same place. It’s too difficult if you’re from Tampa and they’re from Portland, that just throws another wrench in. We wanted to give them a real shot at making their love and their marriage working,” he said. Coelen also told Variety at the time about the locations he was looking at for future Love Is Blind seasons. “Look, the idea is that ultimately we’re going to do this in other countries—it’s very global. There’s lots of places that that we could take it. Chicago is a great place to look at, so is New York, Boston, Houston. There’s so many different places that we could go. And like I said, outside of the country as well,” he said.

Coelen also told Oprah magazine in 2020 that The Pods lasted around 10 days, which started with a series of speed dates between contestants that lasted between eight to 12 minutes. We did a ranking system, from who you though was most compatible to least compatible after the first date. Every day, the list got shorter and shorter,” Love Is Blind season 1 contestant Mark Cuevas told Oprah magazine at the time. Coelen also told Oprah magazine made the cast smaller a few days into the The Pods stage to focus on the contestants forming “real connections.” “We ended up focusing on people who were really forming real connections,” he said.

Though the dates started short, Coelen told Variety that the producers allowed contestants to have longer dates once they saw how strong their connections were. “In the beginning nobody knew who anybody was. So we structured it so that they would have an opportunity to talk to everyone. They were never given any instruction on what to say or what not to say or what they could ask about or what they couldn’t ask about. And you see on the show, some people decided to [ask] ‘How tall are you, what do you look like?’” he said. “Other people were like, ‘Why would I ever do that? That’s not the point of this.’ We really wanted it to be their own story, their own journey. We would set it up so they had the opportunity to talk to everybody. Then from that point [it was monitored]. Let’s say somebody really wanted to talk to you and you’re like, ‘Yeah, I have no interest in that person.’”

He continued, “You’re not going to talk to them. It doesn’t matter. We’re not going to arrange people to speak to one another where somebody’s like, ‘yeah, I don’t want to talk to that person.’ We just wouldn’t do that. Multiple points throughout the day we had to break and they had to eat, go to the bathroom, go do interviews, but generally we wanted to give them as much time in the pods as possible with the people that they genuinely wanted to talk to. These dates are obviously cut down but they were hours and hours and hours long.”

Image: Netflix.

The Love Is Blind season 4 hosts are Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey, who have hosted the series since it premiered in February 2020. The couple also hosted season 1 of Netflix’s The Ultimatum. Nick was the lead singer of the boy band 98 Degrees from 1996 to 2012. The group reunited in 2012 and are still together. Nick has also released four solo alums: SoulO, What’s Left of Me, A Father’s Lullaby and Soundtrack of My Life. He was married to Jessica Simpson from 2002 to 2006, and the two also starred in their own reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica on MTV, from 2003 to 2005. Nick is also the winner of season 5 of The Masked Singer during which he performed as the character “Piglet.” Vanessa was the 1998 Miss Teen USA and was a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and Total Request Live on MTV. She’s the current lead in CBS’ NCIS spinoff, NCIS: Hawai’i, which premiered in 2021.

In an interview with Distractify in March 2022, Nick explained that he and Vanessa wanted to host Love Is Blind because of how their own relationship was long distance when they first started dating. “When Netflix approached us with Love is Blind all those years ago, we jumped at the opportunity because the show really spoke to us personally,” Nick said. “When we first started dating, Vanessa was in New York and I was in Los Angeles. We didn’t get to see each other a lot so we had a lot of long phone conversations, learning everything we possibly could about each other.” He continued, “[Those conversations were] really important for building our relationship and knowing we wanted the same things before there were external pressures on the relationship.” Nick also told Distractify that he and Vanessa want contestants to “fall in love for the right reasons and then introduce everything else.”

Nick also told People in 2022 about how he thinks Love Is Blind would’ve worked for him and Vanessa if they had met in The Pods. “We’ve thought about that, often. And I really, I’m not just saying this for the benefit of this show, I think we would’ve,” he said. “We have the same birthday, we have the same passions, we have the same interests, we have the same drive. Things that motivated us.” Vanessa asked “You would’ve found me through a wall?” to which Nick responded, “I would find you anywhere.” He continued, “I really do think we would’ve found each other. I think we would’ve gravitated to each other. That’s what we did in life. Obviously, we knew each other.” Vanessa added, “We did. We had to find our journey to get to each other.”

Nick also claimed to Us Weekly in 2022 that he would’ve joined Love Is Blind if he was single. “I would. I mean, it’s fascinating,” he said. “Especially having seen the success of season 1 and seeing two loving couples still married to this day? If I watched that and I was looking for love, why wouldn’t you wanna be a part of that? You know, it’s proven to work!” He added, “This dating world is not one I ever was part of — this very superficial ‘swipe left.’ There’s so much judgment and you can Google everybody. I’m not from that era.”

Love Is Blind season 4 is available to stream on Netflix.

“Leap of Faith” by Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed

Buy: ‘Leap of Faith’ by Cameron Hamilton & Lauren Speed $15.89

For more about Love Is Blind, read Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed’s 2021 book, Leap of Faith: Finding Love the Modern Way. In the book, Cameron and Lauren, who were one of two couples to marry from Love Is Blind season 1, share their “engaging and accessible love advice for the modern world” and reveal exclusive behind-the-scenes details from the Netflix series and what went down in The Pods that viewers didn’t see. The book is told from Cameron and Lauren’s alternating points of view as the fan-favorite couple dishes on what it was really like to marry a “faceless stranger” on television and opens up about how their relationship shifted—”for better and for worse”—once cameras stopped rolling and Lauren and Cameron’s relationship continued in the real world. Leap of Faith: Finding Love the Modern Way is a must-read for any Love Is Blind fan. 

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